Access to good, healthy food should be a basic human rightThe Atlantic - 2/22/2012.By Eric Schlosser – For years Prince Charles has challenged the assumptions of industrial agriculture and criticized the behavior of large agribusiness firms. He's been one of the few world leaders brave enough to say – publicly, not just privately – that the current system is unsustainable. In return for that honesty the Prince has been attacked on many occasions by defenders of the status quo.

The Land That Keeps GivingThe New York Times - 2/22/2012.By Anne Raver – IT was early February, when the 10-hour day returns here on the 44th parallel, and Barbara Damrosch could see it in the brighter green leaves of her tatsoi and spinach growing in the unheated greenhouse attached to the house she shares with her husband, Eliot Coleman, at Four Season Farm.

Tilling the soil in 2012Energy Bulletin - 2/21/2012.By Vicki Lipski – It’s all in a day’s work for family farmers of the 21st century: Colony Collapse Disorder, dealing with Monsanto’s threats, global warming disasters, the government crackdown on family farms, genetically-engineered crops. Where once American plowmen had merely to contend with unpredictable weather, infertile soil, inaccessible water supplies, poverty, accidents and disease, today’s food producers face a further cornucopia of sophisticated and bewildering attacks from all sides.

Arsenic found in some infant formula, cereal barsBangor Daily News - 2/20/2012.By Shari Roan (Los Angeles Times) – Los Angeles: Worrisome levels of arsenic have been found in two infant formulas that contain organic brown rice syrup as a main ingredient, researchers reported Thursday. Arsenic was also found in some cereal bars that contain organic brown rice syrup.

Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by Coastal Enterprises Inc., 30 Federal St., Brunswick, Maine. Full-day workshop designed to help established and beginning farmers understand the financials of their business and learn how to make informed decisions to increase profits. Instructor Julia Shanks is the author of "The Farmer's Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business." $100 per person; $135 for two people coming from the same farm. Scholarships available. Information and registration.

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity. There is no place more important to get off to a good start than growing seedlings for your farm. The program at Spring Growth this year will help you evaluate your production with topics from how to set up the production equipment (benches, containers, etc.), evaluate your soil mix, keep up the plant nutrition and avoid problems. Hear from farmers and service providers including Ann Mefferd, Alicyn Smart, Bruce Hoskins and Stephanie Burnett. Information. Fee: $75 for individuals, $100 for couples. Lunch is included. Registration

Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity. To help develop or refine a labor model that works for your farm, we invite you to join a diverse group of farmers for a day of 'participatory professional development' to explore labor management models used on Maine farms today. Please contact Ryan at rdennett@mofga.org with any questions.